Golf tournaments raise over $170K for ALS

When golfers showed up at Joe Sottosanti's charity tournaments, they weren't always focused on their swing. With gourmet food at every hole - from butternut squash ravioli to barbecued ribs - it's understandable that some were thinking of their stomachs.

"People didn't think of it as coming to a golf tournament," says Joe, who was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) in 2005. "They thought they were coming to a buffet." The approach worked; since 2006, the annual tournaments have raised more than $171,000 - thanks in large part to Joe's employer, Galati Market Fresh, and its suppliers - which has funded ALS research at Sunnybrook.

"The first year we raised about $20,000, and I thought that was great. I never thought we would raise $40,000 the second year," says Joe, adding $50,000 was raised the third year. "For me, it was overwhelming."

Though the tournaments turned out to be an incredible amount of work for Joe and his family, the decision to hold them was easy. His experience with Sunnybrook has been phenomenal, he says, and he credits Dr. Lorne Zinman, director of the ALS Clinic at Sunnybrook, for putting him at ease during an otherwise devastating time.

"When I first went to the ALS clinic at Sunnybrook, I didn't even know what ALS was. But Dr. Zinman made me feel secure that this journey wasn't going to be by myself, but with him and his people."

After five years, holding the tournaments has proven too much for Joe, who has difficulty walking and has lost the use of his arms and hands due to his ALS. "The tournaments kept me busy, motivated me and gave me hope, and raised funds for research at Sunnybrook," he says. "But I think it's time for me to just take it easy."